


Daughters Of Libertea

by fihli



Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, F/F, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Gen, M/M, Original Character(s), Slow Burn, Teddy Burr, second gen, still based loosely on amrev history but...i took more liberties w/plot, ya know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-12
Updated: 2018-02-20
Packaged: 2018-11-12 21:56:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11170872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fihli/pseuds/fihli
Summary: Follow the life and times of Theodosia “Teddy” Burr as she leaves New Jersey and begins her new life in New York City. Getting away from her dad’s law firm, his legacy, and his expectations was always her goal, but now it's almost like he's following her in the form of people from both his past and her mom's, and everything somehow leads back to a small coffee shop in the heart of the greatest city in the world.What happened years ago that made Aaron Burr distance himself from anything associated with the name “Libertea”? Why has Teddy never met any of these people who claim to have been such big parts of her early life?And why is her roommate socute?Sequel story to "SONS OF LIBERTEA"!





	1. The Greatest City In The World (To Get Run Over By A Bike In)

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to Libertea, round two, this time with Burr Family Angst™ and Teddy Burr; bi, fly, loves iced chai.

Burr lifted a playful middle finger through Libertea’s bay window, aiming it at John and Alex’s retreating backs, and getting nothing but a head-tossed-back, curls-flying-in-the-wind laugh from John in return. The two of them had ducked out without helping to clean up, and there were chip bags and paper plates and utensils all over Libertea’s bar.

Lafayette slid the iPad they’d used to video chat Washington into a sleeve in his backpack as Adrienne wrapped her arms around his waist from behind, pressing her lips to a ridge in his spine as he leaned over. The mood was happy, if a little solemn, everyone working in silence to clean up so they could get back to normal life.

Behind the counter, Madison and Jefferson made quick work with two brooms, sweeping the floor even as Teddy stumbled around, getting under their feet and making a fuss. Jefferson swept her off her feet and plunked her on his shoulders, making sure she had a firm grip on his headband before continuing to clean.

Teddy was two, big and getting bigger, her hair growing in spiraling curls and her constant smile wide and joyful most of the time. She was a miracle, and every day he spent with her was better than the last. On his right, Theodosia leaned over and took his hand, and their fingers twined together.

“What’re you thinking about?” she asked, her voice low.

“Teddy,” he replied honestly.

“Worrying?” she asked. She knew him too well.

“Only a little,” he replied, and kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger on her warm skin. She squeezed his hand and he felt her wedding band press into his palm.

“She’ll be fine,” she reassured. “I worry about her too, but she’s got us, right? She’s got all of them, too. We’ll take care of her.”

Burr scanned the room, from Angelica and Eliza bickering about who should take home the lion’s share of the food, to Peggy and Herc sitting on the same chair and watching YouTube videos, to Maria letting her legs dangle off the bar, to Madison and Jefferson having a lightsaber battle with the broom handles.

“Mmm,” he hummed. “Those guys.”

“We’re her family,” Theo said, and Burr grinned down at her and, in his heart, he believed every word.

  


**NINETEEN YEARS LATER**

  


“Hey, asshole, get the fuck out of the road!”

Teddy Burr dodged the cab as it raced past her, raising two gleeful middle fingers at the driver, who laid on the horn as he quickly got lost in the hustle and bustle of New York City. As she crossed the street she pushed her hair back with a patterned headband, making sure to adjust it so that the bow was lying perfectly the side of her head. 

She loved the city. Despite only living across the river in Jersey, she hadn’t been to the heart of New York in what felt like years. That was partially her dad’s fault, and partially school’s fault, although, to her, both felt like her dad’s fault.

“I’m here now,” she said to herself quietly as she marched along, threading her way through the crowd with ease. No one gave her a second glance, one girl with a backpack and a duffel bag in a mass of people, as diverse and different as leaves on the autumn trees. “I’m here, and I’m going to show him that I can live here, and thrive here, and— _Shit!_ ”

Teddy jumped back from the curb again as a biker raced by, hitting a puddle and sending a wide arc of dirty water her way, soaking her from curly head to sneakered foot. 

“Hey! Motherfucker! Watch where you’re go— oh, shit, double shit—” 

The biker stopped and turned around as Teddy started backpedaling into the crowd, wheeling their bike up the curb and towards her. Teddy tried to push farther into the crowd, but the busy city people weren’t having any of it, and pushed her right back.

_Dad always said my big fat mouth was going to get me in trouble one day,_ she thought, frantic. _He always told me to talk less and now look where it’s fucking got me, about to get shanked in the middle of the city by some biker dude, or girl, or whatever, wearing baggy black clothes and a big old helmet—_

“Hey, dude, I’m so sorry!” The biker unclipped the helmet and lifted her head, shaking out a short bob haircut, brown and highlighted with gold. She hiked the helmet underneath her arm and held out a brown hand for Teddy to shake. She didn’t. She just stared. The girl retracted her hand. “I promise I usually try to avoid the puddles. Can I do anything to help?”

She gestured at Teddy’s entire being, the soaked jeans, the soaked Doc Martens, the soaked duffel bag. 

“My apartment’s like a block from here. If you want I can throw your coat and stuff in the dryer real quick, it’s no problem at all,” she continued, appraising Teddy. She looked about Teddy’s age, a fresh twenty-one, and had the warmest eyes that she had ever seen. Her brown skin was intermittently splashed with freckles, and she didn’t have any makeup on except for a swipe of shimmery lip balm. “I promise I’m not a murderer, if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“I’m not worried.” Teddy found her voice. “I’m just—”

“Pissed,” the girl finished. “I get it. I just drenched you, you don’t want to be my _friend_ , what the hell am I even saying?”

“No, that’s not it at all,” Teddy said hurriedly. “And a quick spin in the dryer actually sounds awesome, I don’t have a place to stay yet, and I’m fucking _freezing_.”

“Oh my god, then yeah, of course, I’ll show you the way,” the girl said, wheeling her bike up next to Teddy. She gestured at it. “This is the culprit, I call her Turtle, ‘cause she’s big and slow and clunky. And I’m Cat.”

She held out the hand again. This time Teddy shook it, cracking a smile as Cat pumped her arm up and down.

“Short for Catherine. Catherine Barry. I’m from South Carolina but I moved up here last year to get away from it all, I have a _huge_ family down there and I just wanted to be my own person, you know? Forge my own path, right?”

“Right,” Teddy interjected as soon as Cat took a breath in. She was so loud and bright and fiery, she reminded Teddy of her namesake. Her mom, Theodosia Bartow-Burr, was a spitfire in her own right, but always contained and appropriate when she needed to be. Her dad, Aaron, was just always contained and appropriate. 

Teddy was pretty sure she’d gotten the worst parts of both of her parents.

She had her mom’s temper, her mom’s guttermouth, her mom’s naturally big hair, and her mom’s name, which wasn’t all that bad. She had her dad’s need for personal space, her dad’s cutting sarcasm, her dad’s skin tone, and her dad’s eyes.

The appearance stuff wasn’t the problem. It was the mix of personalities that tended to throw people for a loop, especially when they wanted to meet the well-behaved daughter of New Jersey’s best and brightest lawyer and instead they got _her_ , aspiring engineer turned college dropout with dreams of living in the greatest city in the world.

Cat was still talking.

“—and I’m pretty sure that’s when I realized that I could probably do this whole biking thing for a living,” she ended, taking a gasp of air in as they walked along. People tended to give Cat and her bike a wide berth, which Teddy appreciated. “Oh my god, I didn’t even ask your name. I’ve been talking this whole time and you’re just listening like a damn _saint_... Listen, if I ever just start going, interrupt me, please. My roommates have to do it all the time. Like, this one time, I had a—”

“I’m Teddy,” Teddy broke in, grinning when Cat’s shoulders slumped in relief and she grinned back. “Teddy Burr.”

“Nice to meet you, Teddy. Is that short for something? If not, it’s totally cool.”

“Theodosia. My mom’s name. She goes by Theo, and my godfather sort of gave me the nickname when I was born, and it stuck.”

“That’s so pretty!” Cat said, and Teddy shrugged like she could physically push the compliment away. “It’s weird, but not too weird, you know? It fits you, I think. Are you a Leo?”

“Aries.”

“Ah.” Cat touched one knowing finger to her temple. “Fire signs.”

“So,” Teddy said, hopefully changing the subject off of her and onto something she actually wanted to talk about, “where do you and Turtle work?” She nudged the bike’s back wheel with the toe of her boot.

“A flower shop,” Cat said, lifting and dropping one shoulder. “It’s the cutest place, four and a half blocks away from my apartment, and it’s run by the sweetest couple in the entire world; their names are Elizabeth and Maria, but they let me call them Liz and Ria, and they have a _cat_ —”

“Wait.” Teddy grabbed Cat’s shoulder and dragged her to a halt. “Eliza and Maria _Schuyler?_ I know them!”

“Wait, seriously?”

Teddy shrugged. “I mean, I haven’t seen them in forever, not since I can remember, but I think my parents were close with them. I was the flower girl in their wedding. We still have the picture on my mom’s piano back in Jersey.”

“Oh my god!” Cat pushed Teddy’s shoulder. “I’ll take you by after we get you dried off. They’re going to freak out, especially if they haven’t seen you in a long time? I’ll hide you under a coat, or like, a big hat or something, and once I get them all worked up, WHAM—”

“No,” Teddy said, laughing, “none of that, come on! I’ll just go and say hi. They might not even want to see me.”

“Why wouldn’t they want to see you?” Cat cocked her head to the side. “You seem really fun, and you’re totally cute.”

Teddy felt her cheeks heat up, and she pretended to be really interested in a skyscraper.

“But come on,” Cat went on, “why wouldn’t they be psyched to see you?”

“It has to do with my dad,” Teddy said. “Like everything usually does. Something happened when I was little, something with his old group of friends, and he never sees them anymore.”

“Like, cold turkey?”

“I guess,” Teddy said, and shrugged. “There’s still a few pictures around, and my mom goes out with some of her friends sometimes, and I think they ran in the same circle back in the day. I don’t know, it’s really weird, and he gets really defensive whenever I bring it up, so I don’t talk about it.”

She blew out a breath towards aforementioned skyscraper.

“Me and my dad don’t talk about a lot of things.”

“Hence the duffel bag?” Cat asked.

Teddy managed a smile. “Yup. Hence the duffel bag.”

“So, what?” Cat asked, and they turned up a set of brown stone steps leading up to a big door. “You’re homeless in the city ‘cause you and your dad don’t talk?”

“I’m _looking for a place_ ,” Teddy said, “because I’m _becoming independent_.”

“Ah. Better.” Cat pushed the elevator button and ushered Teddy in first, before cramming Turtle in after both of them. “Well, you’re going to think I’m totally nuts, but you should move in with me!”

“You have a room?” Teddy asked, trying to ignore the fact that her socks were definitely soaked through. They squished every time she took a step. “And you don’t have to do this. I just met you.”

“Yeah, but I like you,” Cat said. “And you know my bosses, which is like, super intriguing. You intrigue me.” Teddy laughed at that, shaking her head. “And yeah, I have a room! I live with two other girls; we had a third roommate but she just moved into her own place ‘cause she’s so rich it’s disgusting. Here we are!”

The elevator doors slid open and admitted Teddy and Cat into a skinny hallway. It smelled like curry, and the carpet was a little dated, but it reminded Teddy of something from her mom’s old sitcoms, and she immediately felt at home. Cat lead her down to a door marked 8H, with a plastic sign underneath scrawled on in permanent marker. _NO PANTS, NO BRA, NO PROBLEM._

“This the place?” Teddy asked, looking pointedly at the sign. Cat giggled.

“I didn’t do that,” she said, and it was obvious that she did. She unlocked the door and ushered Teddy in first, chaining Turtle to an exposed pipe in the hallway. The inside of the apartment was dim, and Teddy caught glimpses of photos crowding an old fridge, bunches of flowers crowding windowsills, and books piled in corners. It felt lived in, worn out, and, again, like a home. Maybe not _her_ home, not yet.

“So who else lives here?” she asked as Cat beckoned her down another short hallway to where a washer and a dryer were stacked on top of each other. Cat motioned for her clothes and Teddy almost reluctantly handed over her coat. 

“And the rest of it!” Cat wasn’t messing around. Teddy kicked off her sneakers and wriggled out of her soaked jeans, accepting a dubiously clean pair of men’s boxers and pulled them on over her underwear. She also threw her socks in; Cat’s bike really had soaked her to the bone.

“And I have two roommates like I said,” she continued, pressing a button on the dryer and pulling Teddy back into the living area of the apartment. They walked through the kitchen, Cat spritzed a line of succulents on the windowsill with water from a pink spray bottle, and kicked open a door with her foot. “This is Mercy’s room, she’s kind of a mess.”

Mercy’s room wasn’t nearly as messy as the book-and-clothes covered living room, but Teddy wasn’t about to start splitting hairs. It looked lived in. Friendly. She had a small window seat and a canopy over her twin bed, and the laptop on the desk was open to Netflix. Whoever Mercy was, she liked _The Get Down_. Teddy could definitely live with that.

“This is Reed’s room—” Cat pulled her down the hall and pointed into a darker room than Mercy’s, full of band posters and bulletin boards with scraps of paper fluttering in a fan’s breeze. “Her first name’s Esther, but she goes by Reed. Poetry’s her thing, she drags me to readings and shit _all the time._ ” 

Teddy shrugged noncommittally. Poetry wasn’t really her thing either. Her dad had tried to shove so many things on her that she didn’t really know what _her thing_ even would be. Thinking of dry English classes in high school, she shuddered. Definitely not _poetry_

“And, the crowning jewel of the apartment, my room!” Cat pulled her in and shut the door, flopping back on a big bed with more pillows than Teddy had ever seen in her life. It was obvious that Cat liked to be comfortable; the closet was overflowing with pajama pants and fuzzy socks, and she had a stack of blankets in a corner beside a glass tank.

“Is that a snake?” Teddy asked. Cat grinned.

“Our super hates animals, but I keep him under wraps.” She shot Teddy a playful glare. “Don’t you fucking tell!”

“I promise,” Teddy said, holding a hand over her heart, “as long as you keep him _far away from me_.”

“Reed works at this coffee shop a few blocks over,” Cat explained, reaching into the tank and letting the small snake wrap itself around her brown wrist. “One of the owners there got him from someone else, but I’m the only one who wanted him. I didn’t even get to _name_ him, they named him Yves.”

“Yves?”

“After Lafayette, the owner who found him. He apparently has like a million names, but you’ll have to ask Reed about that. She’s way more close with that whole Libertea squad.”

Teddy’s heart skipped a beat, and the room felt about twenty degrees colder, like her dad had physically manifested the second Cat said _Libertea_. She knew that name. She knew bad things about that name, but she still knew it.

“Reed works at Libertea?”

“Yeah,” Cat said as Yves went farther up her arm. “Why? Hold on, Teddy, you look kind of weird, what’s wrong?”

Teddy stood up. Her clothes were probably almost dry, she could get her bike and find somewhere else to stay the night. Maybe this was a mistake after all, maybe it was time to go back to Jersey and try again when her dad’s legacy wasn’t physically hanging over her head in the form of a strange girl and her strange roommates and a strange coffee shop where strange things happened years and years in the past. She worried her fingers together and apart.

“I should get out of here.”

Cat placed Yves gently back into the tank before she shot off the bed, and there was actual worry in her eyes. “Did I say something wrong?”

“No,” Teddy said, “it’s just… You guys, this _place_. You ever think something’s too good to be true? Something’s gotta be underneath the surface?”

“There’s nothing underneath my surface,” Cat said, and flung her arms wide. “Whatcha see is whatcha get, baby!”

Teddy laughed. “You’re crazy.”

“What, for taking a random girl I’ve never met off the street and giving her a room in my apartment without consulting my roommates first?” Cat thought about it. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Teddy laughed again. This was nice. _Cat_ was nice. Her dad wasn't going to take this away from her, too, not when she was finally getting comfortable, not when she finally found a place that she could maybe one day call home. This was _hers_ , Aaron Burr and Libertea be damned. She took a deep breath.

“Okay, fine. On a trial basis, yes, yes! I’ll move in with you.”

Cat flung her arms around Teddy’s shoulders, and for a second she was lost, completely gone in warmth and strong arms and the other girl’s thick hair, smelling like outside and sun and a light, flowery scent that reminded Teddy faintly of summer hikes with her mom. Cat didn’t linger, it was a quick, efficient, joyful hug, but Teddy was left wishing it was longer.

“You’re not going to regret it!” Cat took her arm and pulled her out of her room, and right across the hall. “This is yours, okay, it’s a little small, but every room in New York is, so you’re going to have to get used to it. I know there’s a bed already, but if you have one we can move it, I’m sure the Hardings down the hall could use it—”

“It’s great, Cat,” Teddy said, and threw her backpack on the stripped bed. It was huge, at least a queen, taking up a lot of space, but it was also the only thing in the room besides a gilded armoire. “Who lived here before me?”

“Luce,” Cat replied. “She was our old roommate, but she moved to her own place a couple weeks ago, closer to her bookstore. She’s the—”

“The one that’s so rich it’s disgusting,” Teddy finished. “She owns a _bookstore?_ ”

“Yeah. Her parents adopted her when she was like six or something, and her dad owns a chain, she manages the one downtown. London Train Books?”

Teddy shrugged. She wasn’t a big reader. Her dad always tried to push books onto her, but they were always thick literary texts and she’d never been interested. “That’s cool, I guess.”

“We kinda,” Cat paused, scuffed her foot on the floor, “we kinda had a little bit of a thing last winter. Just like, a couple of kisses, you know, trying to work things out. That’s not why she moved out though, I promise!”

“Oh,” Teddy said. “That’s, uh, fine? I guess?”

“Luce makes everyone fall in love with her.” Cat flopped down on the bed. “I tried not to, ‘cause she’s a cocky son of a bitch, but come on.”

Teddy sat gingerly on the edge of the bed. “You’re in love with her?”

“Not anymore,” Cat said. “I’m loving _me_ , okay? One of those hippy-dippy self-love bullshit statements, but it’s fucking true. This is the year of me. No more Luce, and no more kissing roommates. I made a pact.”

“With who?”

“Myself!” Cat pushed Teddy off the bed with her foot. “I’m awesome, and it’s time everyone sees it!”

Teddy jumped back onto the bed and shoved Cat’s shoulders until it dissolved into them laying on their backs, shoving each other in earnest, each trying to push the other off the bed, giggling like maniacs. Teddy put in one last shove before flipping onto her stomach and fighting off Cat with one hand, stomach aching from laughter.

_This can work,_ she thought as the other girl flopped on top of her and started checking Instagram on her phone. _I can make this work._

Her own phone buzzed, and she reached onto the floor to grab it. Two texts, a long one from her dad —she could see four five-syllable words in the preview text on her home screen— and one from her mom. Short and sweet, just like Theodosia Burr herself.

**me but older**

TPB: Are you doing ok?

TB: im great mom!!! i actually found a place. it’s super nice and the girls who live here seem sweet!!

TPB: Good. I’m proud of you, bear. Call me later

TB: tell dad im fine.

TPB: He just worries about you.

Teddy threw her phone back onto the ground without reading her dad’s text. She’d call her mom later, talk about the city, dance around the subject of Libertea, and reassure her she really was fine. Maybe she’d even let her video chat with Cat, just to show that she actually found a place to live.

She leaned farther over the bed, letting her hands dangle towards the wood floor, until something brushed her fingertips. She cracked open one eye.

A few photos littered the ground, old Polaroid style ones, pushed under the bed until they were almost invisible unless you were looking for them. The only person Teddy recognized in a few of them were Cat, cheek-to-cheek with a tall blonde and a girl in a light green hijab, grinning lipstick smiles at the camera. Another girl, Korean, a long dark braid swung over her shoulder, sat on a coffeeshop bar, swinging her feet and raising two peace signs to the tall ceiling. 

A few guys were in another, and another couple photos with the whole group, guys and girls, arms wrapped around waists, Cat on a guy’s shoulders, the blonde girl smoldering at the camera with her leg hooked around the Korean girl’s. 

They all looked like they belonged together, and Teddy didn’t even know any of their names. She was never bad at meeting new people, but the pictures made her stomach tie itself into anxious knots. Still laying across her back, Cat let out a low hum that vibrated Teddy’s chest.

“Want to get pizza later?” she asked.

Teddy hurriedly pushed the pictures back under the bed, but one caught on a snag in the floorboards, flipping it face-up, one she hadn’t seen before. A Polaroid of another picture, hanging behind the same coffeeshop bar, of a group of different people. A guy with a cloud of dark hair pushed back with a headband, a girl wearing plaid pressed up against a big guy who looked like he could benchpress three of her, a guy with an impossible amount of freckles holding hands with a guy with dark under-eye circles and a ponytail. 

And her parents, front-and-center— Theodosia Prevost-Burr, in a baggy jacket and leggings, cocking her head slightly and giving the camera that mom look she had, like she knew all your secrets but now they were her secrets, too. And her dad, Aaron Burr, actually _smiling_ , all made up of wrinkles around his eyes and white teeth and a perfectly pressed tie, _of course_.

Unwanted tears prickled at the corners of Teddy’s eyes as she looked at the picture and struggled to breathe as Cat shifted on top of her. _They gave this up, and for what? For Jersey and dad’s firm and—_

She flicked the photo back under the bed and hoped she’d never have to see it again. 

Cat heaved herself off of Teddy’s back and held out a hand to help her up. As they went about their night and Cat showed Teddy farther around the apartment, showed her how to work the coffeemaker, made space for her in the refrigerator, took selfies with her by the windows, Teddy took a page from Cat’s book and made a pact with herself.

She wasn’t going to meet Eliza and Maria at their florist shop.

She wasn’t going to be the missing link from her parents’ past and their old friends’ future.

She wasn’t going to be Teddy Burr, Aaron Burr’s daughter, come back to make things right.

And she was never going to set foot into Sons of Libertea.


	2. How Lucky We Are (To Eat Breakfast For Dinner)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Teddy Burr loves pancakes, does _not_ love meeting new people.

Teddy wanted pancakes more than anything in the entire world.

Moving the pan slightly, sending a tantalizing curl of steam into the air, Cat wedged a spatula under the pancake currently cooking and flipped it like a professional. She’d dragged Teddy into the kitchen, declared _nothing’s better than breakfast except breakfast for dinner!_ , shoved Teddy onto one of the bar stools ringing their island, told her to wait right there, and started whipping up what only could be called a breakfast feast.

“You think the two of us can eat all this?” Teddy asked, a little apprehensive, as Cat poured more batter into the pan and slid the finished pancake onto a plate already stacked with at least six others. Her stomach growled, and she _hoped_ it was all just for the two of them. Cat laughed.

“Mercy should be home soon, and Reed—” she shrugged. “She comes and goes. I think she had a shift today, but she also might be at the library with Tom, I think he had something for her to look over, but I made extra just in case—”

“I’m down with extra,” Teddy cut in. “Breakfast for dinner’s the best.”

Cat grinned and turned back to the stove. Teddy didn’t press further, didn’t ask who Tom was, didn’t ask why the girl Cat called Reed looked over things for him, didn’t ask about anything else. She was torn. Cat was so nice, Cat was so _cute_ , and her apartment was homey and wonderful. But Cat was also intertwined so closely with Teddy’s parents, in such a weird way, and Teddy really didn’t want to get involved.

Things with her parents always got so messy, so quickly.

_Maybe it’s a sign,_ Teddy’s inner self spoke up, a quiet voice that Teddy didn’t hear all that often. _Maybe you were meant to meet Cat, and not be alone in this big city you’re so hell-bent on conquering._

_That_ we’re _so hell bent on conquering,_ Teddy corrected silently. 

_You need help,_ her inner voice continued unimpeded. _Take Cat’s help. You don’t need to go to Libertea, you don’t need to meet Eliza and Maria, you just need_ help. _Don’t act like dad._

_Well that’s just rude._

“What’re you thinking about?” Cat asked, and started setting up the island for dinner. She handed a stack of place settings across, and Teddy took them and began laying them out, shrugging in response to the question.

“All this stuff,” she answered honestly. “Libertea, and Eliza and Maria. And you, I guess.”

“You’re not thinking about ghosting on me, are you?” Cat asked, a little jokingly, but with an undercurrent of seriousness that made Teddy’s heart seize a little. _She really does want me around, doesn’t she?_

It was nice, feeling wanted.

“Of course not,” she responded, less honestly than the first time. Cat didn’t know, but ghosting when things got weird was kind of her specialty. “Who else is gonna eat all these pancakes?”

Cat laughed, loud and like she didn’t care who judged her about how loud it was. Her laugh wasn’t pretty, but it was genuine, and Teddy found herself grinning along with her. 

The two girls ate pancakes until their sides ached, watching different YouTube videos by passing Cat’s phone back and forth. They ended up on the couch, tangled underneath the same blanket and laughing over a John Mulaney clip. 

Teddy almost couldn’t believe it. That morning she had been storming through downtown New York, furious and ready for whatever fight the city was planning on giving her— and there was always a fight, she knew that. And now she was warm and protected, hiding from the fight in a strange girl’s apartment, eating her pancakes and relishing her legs pressed against her own on the couch. Things were already so different than she expected. 

“Hey Teddy,” Cat murmured as the video ended. 

“Yeah?”

“I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m glad you’re so trusting,” Teddy replied, wiggling farther into the couch to get comfortable. “I could still be an axe murderer.”

“Well I haven’t met a lot of axe murderers,” Cat said, “but if you’re one, they must not be a bad group.”

Teddy kicked her under the blanket and it quickly devolved into a halfhearted, giggly slap fight, only interrupted by the apartment door slamming open and a very blonde whirlwind making touchdown. 

_This must be one of the roommates,_ Teddy thought, wriggling upright and half wishing her first impression wasn’t going to be covered in a bright pink blanket with syrup on her face. The roommate dropped her purse (big, black, expensive probably, not that Teddy knew a lot about purses) on the floor and threw her head back with a loud, extended sigh.

“Catherine Barry, my life _sucks_ so _much!_ ”

“Shut up, Luce,” Cat said. “Want a pancake?”

_Oh,_ Teddy found herself thinking as Cat untangled herself from the blanket and went to go slide the rest of the pancakes into the oven for warming, _that’s Luce. The very same Cat-was-in-love-with-her Luce. Huh._

The very same Cat-was-in-love-with-her Luce was currently slumped on the island dramatically, her chin in her hand, pouting as she scrolled through some article on her phone. She had the longest, waviest blonde hair Teddy had ever seen, perfectly styled in a half-bun with the rest of it cascading down her back. Her dark lashes fluttered like a Disney princess as she sighed at nothing, her pink tinted lips pouting more, if that was possible. Teddy stayed where she was on the couch, kind of wishing she could go hide in her bedroom. Luce’s old bedroom. _Well, shit._

“What’s wrong?” Cat asked, sliding a plate with two pancakes in front of Luce. She took a dainty bite before slumping back down, again, dramatically.

_Disney fuckin’ princess,_ Teddy thought, surprising herself at how vicious it was. Was she jealous? Teddy Burr didn’t do jealousy. She pinched herself under the blanket.

“I broke up with Pauline,” Luce said, around another bite of pancake. “It was a long time coming, but I think we’ll both be better off—”

Cat snorted out a laugh. “Fuck that, Luce, you’re the worst!”

Luce leaned back, indignant, and Teddy shimmied until she sat up straighter. _This_ was interesting.

“Excuse me?” Luce said.

“You were dating Pauline for, what, two weeks?” Cat was still laughing. “You know that’s your thing, right? You’re a serial dater. Which sucks, because all your exes end up coming here and crying in my arms, you know that, right?”

Luce pouted. “You’re so comforting. Except for right now, bitch.”

Cat shrugged. “You did it to yourself.”

Teddy cocked her head to the side and regarded both girls. Luce and her pancakes, Cat with her hands covered in flour.

_Luce doesn’t know,_ she thought. _Cat is in love with her, or was in love with her, or something, and Luce doesn’t know. Hell, Cat said they kissed, and Luce still doesn’t know._ Teddy’s cheeks flamed. _How self-absorbed can you be! Cat is so caring, how can Luce walk all over her and not even know—_

“I can’t believe myself,” Cat burst out, and leapt over a pile of blankets in the living room, grabbing Teddy by the wrist and dragging her to her feet. “This is Teddy, Luce, she’s my new roommate!”

“Teddy,” Luce said, sweeping her striking blue eyes over Teddy’s entire being. “I was wondering who was hiding under a blanket over there. Cat isn’t really one for one night stands, so I guess roommate makes more sense.”

“Theodosia Burr,” Teddy said, and held out a hand. “NIce to meet you.”

These girls didn’t know her, so they didn’t know that polite Teddy meant bitchy Teddy.

“Love that,” Luce said, and kissed her hand, leaving behind a smudge of pink. Teddy squashed the urge to wipe her hand off, and gave her an attempt at a winning smile. This serial dater wasn’t going to get the best of her, and she definitely wasn’t going to get the best of Cat again.

“Teddy’s from Jersey,” Cat said, and jumped up to sit on the counter, Teddy stayed standing; the only other chair was next to Luce, and she wasn’t about that life. “She moved here today, we ran into each other in Times Square.”

“And you’re now a roommate,” Luce said, giving Teddy that judging look again. “Cat, you trust too easily.”

Cat blew a raspberry. “And you don’t trust at all. I’ll remind you about this conversation when I’m comforting Pauline later this week.”

“Shut up.” Luce laughed, and ate the rest of her pancake. “Why do you keep me around, anyway?”

“Free books,” Cat said, grinning, and turned to Teddy. “Luce’s dad owns London Books, the chain.”

“ _Chain_.” Luce scoffed. “Do twelve stores in four states make it a chain?”

_Oh, great,_ Teddy thought, rolling her eyes internally. _Disney princess looks, Disney princess money._

“Anyway, she manages the one in town,” Cat went on. “That’s why she moved out. Left us for the apartment above the store, Mrs. One Bedroom Two Bath.”

“You love my Jacuzzi tub,” Luce returned.

“And your Netflix subscription,” Cat said, with her bright white grin. “Are you staying over tonight?”

“I guess not,” Luce said, with another glance at Teddy. “I’ll let your new roommate settle in.”

“You stay over a lot?” Teddy asked. “You think you’d miss the Jacuzzi.”

“I’m here all the time,” Luce replied, cocking her head with the sweetest _fuck you_ smile Teddy ever saw. “And Cat comes over to my place, too. You might even call us best friends.”

Cat jumped off the counter to slap Luce’s shoulder. “Don’t let Mercy and Reed hear you say that shit. We’re a squad.”

“Oh, come on,” Luce said. “Reed and Tom are practically attached at the hip. And Mercy knows she’s my other best friend.”

“Speaking of Tom,” Cat said, lowering her voice like it was now gossip hour, “did he tell you there’s a new hire at Libertea?”

Teddy’s heart immediately seized. _Libertea_. Was there ever going to be a time that that name didn’t make an anvil drop on her heart? She couldn’t stop thinking about the picture underneath Luce’s bed, the picture of her parents and their old friends. Their New York life. Libertea. She had a sudden, involuntary urge to show Luce the picture. Wave it in her face. _I belong here more than you._

Luce’s thumbs flew over her phone screen. “Of course he didn’t tell me. I’m going to kill him.”

“His name’s Nathan Hale,” Cat said. “Warren hired him, apparently without consulting Mr. Laurens first—” 

“Like he would say no,” Luce said. “Laurens loves everyone Warren hires, according to Mercy. Now if you would’ve said _Andre_ hired him…”

“Andre’s a terrible judge of character,” Cat agreed. “He hired Hazard for Libertwo. That’s damnation in it of itself. I mean, his nickname is _Hazard_. That should’ve been a red flag, right?”

The two girls dissolved into giggles, like this was a well-rehearsed conversation they had at least once a week. Cat crossed her arms. 

“Who’s Hazard?”

“I think his real name’s Oliver,” Cat said, looking over at Luce for confirmation. She shrugged.

“Hell if I know.”

Cat looked back over at Teddy. “He breaks shit.”

Luce picked at a cuticle.

“More shit than his paycheck’s worth.”

“Makes a mean scone, though.”

“Okay, _that’s_ true.”

“Hey Cat,” Teddy interrupted as soon as there was an opening. “You mind if I take a shower? I’m exhausted.”

“Don’t expect any company,” Luce said, and winked, slowly, her dark lashes caressing her porcelain doll cheek. Teddy’s fists clenched under the island’s counter, and she smiled serenely.

“Wouldn’t ask for it even if I wanted it,” she said, and followed Cat down the hall.

“Here it is,” Cat said, pushing open the bathroom door with her toe. “You can use my stuff if you don’t have your own, my shelf’s the highest one. And Teddy?”

“Yeah?” Teddy said, hoping she wasn’t coming off as pissed off as she felt.

“Don’t let Luce get to you,” Cat said. _Shit._ “We’ve been friends forever, since like middle school, so I’ve had a lot of time to get used to… How she is. But she’s a good person, I promise, no matter how bitter I come off about our… Past activities.”

“Kissing you and not even asking how you felt about it?” Teddy said.

Cat crossed her arms uncomfortably. “Yeah, that.”

“That’s not really what friends do.”

She shifted against the door frame. “Teddy, I like you a lot, but I just met you today. I don’t really think it’s your place to—”

“Fuck, Cat, I know.” Teddy’s cheeks flamed. “I’ll shut up about it. I’m sorry.”

Cat threw her arms around Teddy’s neck and pulled her close. She smelled like butter frying in a warm pan, like cinnamon stars in a pancake sky. “Thanks. I’m glad you’re moving in. I’m glad you’re a part of us now.”

_Us._

“That means Luce, too, right?” Teddy said, only half-joking. Cat let go, leaning back and smacking Teddy’s arm with the back of her hand.

“She’s better after you get to know her, I promise.”

“I’ll remember you said that.”

Cat grinned, pushed Teddy farther into the bathroom, and closed the door. Teddy, grinning, her cheeks still hot for some reason, stripped and got into the shower. The controls were, thankfully, simple to figure out, and Cat’s shower shelf was full of Lush soap and shampoo bars. Teddy lathered cinnamon shampoo into her hair and let out a sigh, the sound escaping to the ceiling along with steam and bubbles. 

She should call her mom, explain her new living situation, reassure her that she wasn’t dead in some city gutter somewhere. She should unpack, figure out how to make Luce’s old room her own. She should make things right with Luce before they got more complicated. She didn’t want to do that, though. Let Luce hate her. Let the rest of Cat’s friends follow her lead. She didn’t need their pity, their friendship, or their ties to Libertea.

The only thing she wanted to do was sleep.

She found a clean towel in the cabinet by the shower and wrapped herself in it after wringing water out of her hair. Glancing out of the bathroom, she made sure that the coast was clear before sprinting down the hall to her room, leaving moist footprints on the wooden floor. 

Digging in her suitcase, she found a clean t-shirt, tie-dye and oversized, with a cat printed on the front. She shimmied into a pair of leggings, and tugged on some socks. She had a blanket but no pillow, but Luce’s old bed was comfortable enough without one. After sprinting back to the bathroom to brush her teeth, Teddy was in bed, light off and white noise playing from her phone.

She huddled further under the blanket, watching the city lights making shapes on her ceiling. Before she knew it she was asleep, curled into a ball in the middle of a bare queen-size mattress, her clothes strewn on the floor, the photos of her family still hidden under the bed.

•••

Teddy woke up the next morning, only to find a pillow under her head, and a comforter draped over the blanket she’d brought from home. Both of them were bright teal, and smelled like Cat. She grinned, snuggling farther into the nest she’d made for herself, but the loud sound of talking made her sit up, quicker than an arrow shot from a bow. There were a _lot_ of voices, from the sounds of it. Someone laughed, a booming, very _male_ sounding laugh. She checked her phone.

It was five thirty in the morning, the sun wasn’t even fully up yet, and there were people in the apartment. Teddy swung her legs over the bed, noting her crazy hair and tired eyes in the mirror. It was time to socialize.

_Sup, Cat’s friends,_ Teddy thought, and gave the mirror unenthusiastic finger guns. _Meet Teddy Burr, your new worst enemy_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter: Who on earth is Tom, and why is he like this?
> 
> Thanks for reading (and sticking around for the 8 years it took me to update this)! Comments/kudos are immensely appreciated, and are the only things that will get this fic updated again tbh. If you like and/or want more shenanigans, and you can always find me at fihli.tumblr.com! I track the tags #SOLTEA and #LIBERTWO.
> 
> -Gab

**Author's Note:**

> Next chapter: THE ROOMMATES™.
> 
> Thanks for reading and welcome back! Comments/kudos are immensely appreciated if you like and/or want more shenanigans, and you can always find me at fihli.tumblr.com! I track the tags #SOLTEA and #LIBERTWO.
> 
> -Gab


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